House Approves $649 Billion Defense Bill

By a 336-87 vote, the House of Representatives has approved a $649 billion dollar defense spending bill that would provide $119 billion for efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. As the Associated Press reports, the House also approved a 1.6 percent pay raise for military personnel and rebuffed an effort from Rep. Dennis Kucinich that would've "barred funds for the U.S. operation against Libya." Reuters notes that the House bill doesn't include funding for "U.S. nuclear weapons programs or military construction, which come in other bills and add about $33 billion to military spending." The bill would reportedly boost the Pentagon budget by 17 billion for the fiscal year of 2012.

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